Banking & Finance

Ahlibank Receives Bids from Bank Dhofar and Omnivest for Potential Merger

Muscat: Bank Dhofar has revised its offer for Ahlibank just a day after a corporation led by Oman International Development and Investment Co. (OMNIVEST) said it plans to bid for the merger.

Bank Dhofar, the GCC’s second-largest lender with 11.2 Billion USD in assets, said a potential merger with Ahlibank would provide a “compelling opportunity” for shareholders, without providing further details. In April, Ahlibank’s board of directors turned down an initial, non-binding offer from Bank Dhofar that would have created an entity with $19 billion in assets.

On Tuesday, Omnivest – as the organization is known – submitted an offer to acquire Ahlibank’s entire issued capital for a price of 185 baizas per share, valuing the bank at about 360.7 million rials. Omnivest then plans to merge Ahlibank with Oman Arab Bank.

Bank Dhofar has attempted to merge with local competitors in the past as well. It considered a combination with National Bank of Oman, but the lenders abandoned the deal in 2019. They also were in talks with Sohar International for a potential merger which collapsed in 2016 after three years of deliberations.